My spidey senses are… silky? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. By weight, spider silk is stronger than steel! However, perfectly reproducing this versatile material has proven difficult. How do spiders successfully spin silk? Lucas Parent at Northwestern University and David Onofrei at San Diego
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Counting really IS the bees knees! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We count on bees to serve as nature’s top pollinator. Speaking of counting… How DO bees keep track of all those flowers? At Queen Mary University of London, Vera Vasas studies how bees
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Shhh!!! There’s blood suckers out here!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Mosquitos!. By the time we hear them, it’s already too late – we’re lunch! But could THEY be the ones to hear US coming first? Meet Ron Hoy and Gil Menda, of Cornell
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Cold got you down? STAY HOME! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. More and more, people are told to stay home if they are feeling sick. Don’t infect the whole office! But does it really make a difference? Ask an ant! The highly social nature
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Na na na na na na na na… Mothman? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Evolution is a war. An arms race that’s lasted millions of years. Like the war between moths…and BATS! Bats use echolocation — high-pitched sounds — to see and hunt, like
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The hive’s in danger. Is the solution. . . magic mushrooms? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Bee populations worldwide are in danger. Deadly viruses spread by mites deform their wings, rendering them unable to fly. Can we save the bees? Meet Walter Sheppard of
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Ughhh, what did I eat?. This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Caterpillars are cute, but not when they damage crops. Plants defend themselves by producing chemicals that attract wasps, a natural pest control. Wasps lay eggs in caterpillars, and hatchlings slowly eat the caterpillars from
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Hey, ants – can’t we all just …get along? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Not all ants are after your picnic basket. Some species are humble fungus farmers. Others are parasitic freeloaders. These social creepers come over and eat the farmer ants’ crops with
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Like your chili extra hot? Here’s another thrill you might enjoy—a tarantula bite! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. A study by David Julius of the University of California, San Francisco, looked at venom from a West Indian tarantula. It’s shown to activate the same
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Bzzz bzzz, smack! You—literally—smell good enough to eat! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Those pesky mosquitoes! They do more than just bug us. They spread malaria! Yikes! Even more horrifying? Once you’re infected by a malarial mosquito, you attract more of them! Never fear,
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